Snooker legend Steve Davis and Prog guitarist Kavus Torabi have teamed up with Coil‘s Michael J. York for an amazing new project. The Utopia Strong are a semi-modular trio, delivering medical grade music to the visionary music head.
Santa is treating us early this year, as The Utopia Strong are set to deliver a debut performance in Ramsgate on December 21st. Better yet, Steve and Kavus will be gifting us with another stupendous DJ set afterwards, as we party down into the early hours!
The greatest Christmas party in Ramsgate – you heard it here first!
The Utopia Strong were born on the evening of 2nd January 2018 after what can only be described as an experimental and revelatory improvised session together. Kavus Torabi, Michael York and Steve Davis have fused Modular Synthesisers with conventional and traditional instruments to create a weird and joyous celebration of all that is good about left field psychedelic music.
Kavus Torabi is an experimental/psychedelic musician with a long history in the field. He has his own band, Knifeworld, and is frontman in the current line up of Gong. He has been a member in various other bands including Guapo and most notably a guitarist in the final line up of Cardiacs.
Steve Davis was the most successful professional Snooker player of the 1980’s, winning a total of 28 major ranking events including 6 World Championships. In recent years he has indulged in music related activities, namely collecting left field music from around the globe, presenting a monthly radio show on NTS Radio with Kavus Torabi and now joining forces with Kavus and Michael York to form The Utopia Strong, further cementing his growing interest in playing the Modular Synth.
Michael York is a multi instrumentalist and luthier, working mainly with modular/analogue synths and woodwinds (primarily focusing on bagpipes, reeds and flutes of Europe and the Near East). His piping has seen him work not only in the realm of folk, with the likes of Shirley Collins and the 7 piece bagpipe choir Zephyrus, but also with the esoteric avant garde ensembles Coil, Cyclobe, Current 93, Guapo and The Stargazers Assistant.
“The overall sound was pretty accidental. I certainly didn’t expect the music to sound so ecstatic and positive. Without wanting to puncture the mystery, there really felt like an element of magic at play in making this album” – Steve Davis
“A total fucking miracle. In twenty years of making records it’s certainly been the easiest and most enjoyable to make” – Kavus Torabi
